The Seer by Rowan McAllister (reading comprehension books .TXT) 📕

more densely populated area of town, hoping to lose their pursuers in the shadows, but a feminine cry from behind forced him to swing around.

Fara had been yanked off her feet and away from Shura. The guard who’d caught up to them still held the back of her cloak as Fara struggled to free the clasp at her throat.

Daks did a quick count. Six men converged on them. The other two must have stayed behind to check on their fellows, but it probably wouldn’t be long before they followed.

Shura feinted with her dagger at her nearest attacker and used his distraction to get through his guard and crack the heel of her palm under his chin. His head snapped back, and he toppled to the ground. Fara struggled free of her cloak, and without a moment’s pause rolled to the side, grabbed the boot of the nearest man, and yanked him off his feet. The small woman leapt up and struck out at another man with her fists and booted feet barely a second later, her movements a blur.

She hadn’t been lying. She could take care of herself.

Though relieved to see it, Daks wasn’t going to let the women have all the fun. He waded into the fray with his club, jabbing at stomachs, cracking arms and wrists, and smashing noses. He didn’t have enough room to really swing his club without endangering the women, but he could still do a fair bit of damage.

The soldiers obviously hadn’t been expecting all three of them to fight. It took them a few precious moments to understand the danger, but they were recovering quickly, and Daks feared his strikes might have to get deadlier soon. Especially since the noise was drawing unwanted attention.

Heads poked out of windows and doors, and exclamations of dismay grew louder as lanterns came alight inside darkened houses. One shout for the guard became two and then six and so on, echoing down the streets. They’d have company soon.

Three of the soldiers had fallen to the ground, leaving the other three still fighting, but Daks spotted the remaining two plus a couple of their recovered fellows running toward them. They were out of time.

He was just about to shout a warning to the women when the sound of hoofbeats and an angry neigh rent the air. Horse charged into the approaching group of men, scattering them. Daks’s jaw dropped. He threw a glance at Shura, only to find her just as stunned even as she continued to struggle with the man in front of her. Unfortunately, one of the men on the ground chose that moment to rise behind her with his belt knife poised to strike. Daks cried out and lunged toward him, his heart in his throat, knowing he’d be too late. But a second before the guard would have sunk his dagger into Shura’s unprotected side, Ravi emerged from the shadows wielding a brick. He slammed it into the back of the guard’s head and the man crumpled to the ground.

Daks didn’t have time to spare for more than a relieved smile as he redirected his momentum to barrel into two of the men directly in front of them. Uncaring for any damage he might incur, he tackled them to the street while Shura dispatched the last. The other four were still trying to escape the hooves and teeth of the enraged stallion. Daks had no idea how the beast had untied himself from where he’d left him, how he’d found them, or what had pissed him off, but he was glad Horse seemed to be on their side.

“Come on!” he shouted to all four of his companions. “We’ll split up and meet back where we left our packs! Go!”

Shura snagged Fara’s cloak off the ground took her hand again and ran, but Ravi stood frozen in place, staring down at the bloodied guard at his feet and looking a little glassy-eyed. Daks grabbed his wrist and dragged him away. Hopefully, going in opposite directions would slow any pursuit, but he still ducked down as many twisting dark alleys as he could, with Ravi stumbling along behind him.

At the head of one alley, Daks skidded to a halt, panting. On instinct, he spun on his heel, grabbed Ravi’s shoulders, and shoved him into a recessed doorway. Ravi’s mouth opened, but Daks clapped a hand over it and pressed himself close. With his other hand, he drew the hood of his cloak up, hoping the dark material would hide both of them in the shadows.

“Stay still,” he whispered breathlessly, his lips pressed against Ravi’s ear as their chests brushed together with each heaving breath.

Booted footsteps echoed off nearby buildings, and flickering torchlight followed soon after as several men ran along the street nearby.

Ravi’s gasping breaths warmed Daks’s palm. He drew back enough to search Ravi’s wide eyes, to make sure he was calm enough to stay quiet, then pulled his hand away so the man could get some air. They huddled, pressed closely together in the alley, until the searchers moved on. But even when the threat had passed, Daks wasn’t in any hurry to step away. His lips curled as he was reminded of other times he’d been breathless and wrapped around a man in an alley.

Good times.

Ravi shifted slightly, brushing against him, and Daks’s cock twitched despite a slight unpleasant twinge and wetness seeping from his side. A fight like this always left him horny. Shura had explained it quite pragmatically to him once. It wasn’t the blood and the mayhem. It was facing death and needing to reaffirm life to keep himself in balance with the universe… or something like that. He hadn’t completely understood her Cigani wisewoman speech, but he’d gotten the impression that she was speaking from experience, which meant he wasn’t the only one. That was enough.

“You shouldn’t be this close. It might trigger a Vision,” Ravi whispered in a somewhat strangled tone, and Daks reluctantly stepped back.

“Are they gone?”